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Almost exactly two weeks ago, my husband and I had the privilege of going to an art show opening at Autumn Space, a gallery on Irving Park. The artist was Makoto Fujimura.

Makoto was commissioned to illuminate the four gospels in celebration of the 400th anniversary of the King James Bible (1611-2011).

He spoke about his art, and the inspiration he gathered from the famous words “Jesus wept.”

Our church sponsors this art gallery and orchestrated the show. Musicians from our church (including yours truly) provided background music.

That bass player–wow.

I ran around snapping pictures, and a professional artist/photographer taught me a quick lesson about the zoom function on my flash.

Believe me–I needed that lesson! It’s challenging to photograph a space with such high ceilings, and such contrasts in light and shadow.

Here’s Brad talking to my husband–Brad manages the gallery and installed the pieces for this show the morning of. Way to go, man. Way to stay calm under pressure.

People mingled, snacked on cheese and salami and root beer, and gazed at the art thoughtfully.

And that brings me to this: I love that our church is so committed to the city and to the arts. We’re in the middle of a sermon series on creativity–how we are modeled after a Creator God, and meant to create. From the things we create throughout the day without even thinking–a meal, a thank you card, an email, a batch of cookies–to intentional art such as a painting or a song–it all happens because we are made in God’s image.

Creativity is at our core–not just Makoto’s core or Picasso’s core, but the essence of any and every human being.

I am so thankful for the past year and a half of my life. Since we moved from Delaware to Chicago and I made the switch from a stressful and all-consuming sales and management job to a low-key office job with absolutely no stress, I have had the energy and time to create again.

Hence, this blog.

Hence, my foray into the challenging art of photography.

Hence, making music with my friend Carrie.

Hence, songwriting with my husband.

Hence, experimenting in the kitchen.

Hence, teaching a cooking class (more about that soon).

I can’t believe how blessed I am. I have the calling–and privilege–to be a creative woman. A person who makes things, because I’m the daughter of a God who makes things.

“Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of men.” (John 1: 3-4)

“For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him.” (Colossians 1:15-16)

“By the word of the Lord were the heavens made, their starry host by the breath of his mouth. He gathers the waters of the sea into jars; he puts the deep into storehouses. Let all the earth fear the Lord; let all the people of the world revere him. For he spoke, and it came to be; he commanded, and it stood firm.” (Psalm 33:6-8)

“Then God said ‘Let us create man in our own image, in our own likeness’ . . . so God created man in his own image . . . God saw all that he had made, and it was very good.” (Gen. 1:26, 27, 31)

What have you created lately? Was it a simple spaghetti sauce? A spanking clean house? A feeling of peace in your home? A fingerpainting project with your kids? A blog post? Whether what you made is large or small, take joy in your ability to create. It’s divine–literally.

As promised, I have come to share an amazing game with you. We played this not only on Family Vacay, but also at our fantastic New Years party, where I learned that it’s called “Chinese Telegraph.” Or maybe Dave made up that name–I’m not quite sure. Anyway. It’s a laugh and two halves, folks. And perfect for large groups, when you’re looking for a game that everyone can play together.

Here’s how it works.

First, count the number of people in the group. Let’s say there are 12 people: obtain a stack of 12 pieces of paper for each person. In this case, we had 12 half-sheets in different colors of construction paper. Everyone also needs a writing utensil.

Everyone should number their sheets 1-12. Note: the flip side of the sheets can be used for a second round of the game.

Now we begin: everyone writes a sentence. Any sentence. For example: Three girls stuff their faces with ice cream while a starving dog looks on dolefully. Or Elvis Presley mans the submarine bravely as the giant octopus attacks the vessel.

Once everyone has written their sentece, they pass their entire stack of papers to the right. Or left. Whatever.

Everyone looks at the sentence that has been passed to them, puts the sentence at the bottom of their new stack, and on the fresh sheet draws their interpretation of that sentence.

When everyone is done with their drawing, they pass the stacks again to their left. The next person looks at the drawing, puts it at the bottom of the stack, and writes a sentence to interpret the picture.

And so on, and so forth, until everyone receives their original pile back.

Just like the telephone game, the difference between the original sentence and its final embodiment is absolutely hilarious.

Now the most fun part begins: one by one, everyone takes a turn standing up to show the whole group the succession of pictures and sentences that takes us from the initial idea to the final interpretation.